Cooke County —
Local residents spent Wednesday struggling with the results of a white Christmas.
Tuesday afternoon’s winter storm brought three inches of snow to Cooke County, making way for an overnight freeze and hazardous road conditions.
Belva McClinton of the Gainesville Police Department was one of many officials to report weather-related wrecks within city limits. She cited five minor accidents, two major accidents and a number of agency assists between noon Tuesday and noon Wednesday, all caused by icy pavement.
“Unless somebody has to get on the road, we prefer they don’t,” McClinton said.
County sheriff’s department employee Shelli Bengfort said Wednesday that more than 60 vehicle wrecks were reported to her dispatch office — with more reports steady through the day — though no fatalities or major injuries were included.
“They started yesterday at around 3:45 a.m.,” Bengfort said about the string of local wrecks, adding that Christmas Day storms began with cold drizzle many hours before any snow was seen. “That was when our first one came in, about the time the rain started. And it was raining when I got to work at 3 a.m.”
Mark Tackett of the Department of Public Safety said Tuesday’s freeze brought the expected problems to Interstate 35, though Texas Department of Transportation crews have been on hand to patrol and plow the more severe areas.
“We opened it back up last night,” Tackett said Wednesday about the interstate. “TxDOT and DPS are working around the clock to make it as safe as possible.”
County offices were closed Wednesday and today’s operating hours are tentative. City of Gainesville Public Services Director Ron Sellman said he had been on holiday leave when Tuesday’s storms hit local roadways.
“Not anymore,” he said Wednesday morning. “We’re sanding all the city streets that we can and most all the city bridges have been sanded. We’re sanding around City Hall and the post office, places like that. Also emergency facilities such as fire departments and ambulance services so that they can get in and out.”
Another side effect of the weather was a freeze of three city water mains, causing residents on South Howeth Street to spend Wednesday without water.
“We just ask that people be patient,” Sellman said. “We’re waiting on other companies to come and locate other utilities, so that we don’t dig for a water line and end up hitting a gas line.”
A National Weather Service forecast calls for another overnight freeze — Wednesday into today — but today’s temperatures are expected to climb into the forties, and slick local roads should gradually melt back to normal during the week. Partial and full suncasts are predicted through Sunday.
Statewide and beyond
A major winter storm brought a rare white Christmas to the southern U.S. plains on Tuesday, contributing to a 21-vehicle pile-up that shut down a major highway in Oklahoma.
The storm system surging east from Kansas and the Texas Panhandle includes the threat of tornados and severe thunderstorms along its southern fringe, from southeast Texas to Alabama, the National Weather Service said.
The storm is expected to bring blizzard conditions and 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) of snow as it strengthens and moves northeast into the upper Ohio River valley through southern Missouri and Illinois, it said.
Freezing drizzle overnight led to 10 separate collisions on Interstate 40 at Oklahoma City just before 3 a.m., said Trooper Betsy Randolph, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The 21-vehicle pile-up included three tractor-trailers and shut down the westbound lanes for about five hours, she said.
Twelve people were taken to hospitals, and troopers are checking on the severity of their injuries.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Local News
Related Photos
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City streets were caked with ice Wednesday morning, following Tuesday’s “white Christmas” in Cooke County. Law enforcement officials reported Wednesday morning that more than 60 weather-related vehicle accidents occurred, though no fatalities or injuries were report. Staff photo by Greg Russell
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